Section 2 in the "Growing" To Heaven (GTH) Series. GTH examines evidence to answer the question "Does God Exist?" Section 2 explores Science vs., Religion, The Basics of Science- Intelligent Design, Atheism, Materialist/ Reductionist, Definitional Branches of Science, Existential Questions, Our Vast Universe, Saturn's Design & More...

2. Science!!
Of
“A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step”- Lao Tzu I began
this one in June 2011 with an online search for “Proof of God’s
Existence.” It lead me directly to the field

3. Science
Worldview is Materialist & Reductionist–Aligned with Classical Physics
Materialism--
A Universe Made Solely
of Matter & Energy- Is
The Only Reality
Reductionism- Complex things are best
understood by Reducing them to the interactions
of their parts
Or: to simpler more fundamental things such as
Tiny Material Particles
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4. The Branches of Science
• Natural Sciences
• Physical (Physics, Chemistry, Geology)
• Life (Biology, Zoology, Botany)
• Earth/Space (Cosmology, Astrophysics)
• Social Sciences (Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science)
• Formal Sciences (Mathematics, Statistics, Systems Theory)
• Applied Sciences (Engineering, Medicine, Computer Science)
These groupings are all ways scientists attempt to discover the truth about Reality
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5. Of the Branches of Science (Life, Physical, Earth/Space, Social, Formal & Applied) the following
provided the most relevant information for “GROWING” TO HEAVEN
E
art
h
Science sure can
be intimidatin’
sometimes!
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6. Observation- Make observations in reality
Question- Formulate a question
Research- Seek existing answers/solutions
Hypothesize- Form an hypothesis
Experiment- Design/Perform experiments
The
Scientific
Method
Test Hypothesis-Accept/reject hypothesis
Draw Conclusions-Conclude per work
Report–Publish/share results w/Peer group
The
Power
Behind
Science
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7. Scientists and Belief
% Who believe in God
% Who don’t believe in God, but do believe in a universal spirit or higher power
% Who don’t believe in either
% Don’t know/refused (VOL.)
General Public 83 12 4 1
Scientists 33 18 41 7
Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life
Project. 'Scientists and Belief', 2009.
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8. In 1802, William Paley wrote in Natural Theology about his observations of design in nature. He became best known for his
simple, yet elegant, “watchmaker analogy” which caused history to place him in the same company as Plato (Timaeus),
Thomas Aquinas (fifth way), and countless other great minds. Known as a teleological argument it is the oldest known and
arguably the most influential and widely accepted argument for the existence of God
The Watchmaker Analogy
Imagine you are hiking across a rugged, rolling field (Heath),
and you stumble upon a watch
• Paley claims that if we were to examine the watch, we
would notice its complex and intricate workings, and from
this observation it would follow that an intelligence was
behind it
• The basic premise is that design (i.e. the watch) implies a
designer (human being) and Paley holds this is analogous to
the natural world
• The watch represents the world- its complex and intricate
workings representing those found in nature
• Just as the apparent design of the watch implies a
designer, so too does the apparent design of the world
• This designer, Paley asserts, is God

9. Intelligent Design
Intelligent design applies scientific methods to detect design. For example, if in
repeated studies- a natural mechanism for processing information is observed- and it
reveals the appearance of design- ID Scientists tend to posit that- it was designed
The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are
best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection
Studies and analyzes a system's components, to determine whether various natural
structures are the product of chance, natural law, intelligent design, or some
combination thereof
Research is conducted by observing the types of information produced when
intelligent agents act
The Science
of
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10. Definitions of the world’s major belief systems
Theism
Deism
Agnosticism
Atheism
Pantheism
Polytheism
The belief that God created the universe and everything in it and takes an active role intervening in it
and sustaining a personal relation to his creatures
While God created the universe, natural laws determine how things play out. Based on Isaac Newton’s
Clockwork Universe theory where the universe is compared to a clock that has been wound up and put in
motion by God but is then governed by the laws of science
Neither believes or disbelieves in a god or religion –may feel it is impossible for human beings to know
anything about how the universe was created and if a divine being exists
The belief that all reality is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing,
immanent god. God is everything, and everything is God
Belief in more than one god. Usually many. Ancient Greece- Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Dionysus etc. to
modern day-Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Japanese--Shintoism
Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods
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12. (Materialist /Reductionist) (Theism/Deity/God)
Secular Humanism-
Neo- Darwinism
Origins? Chance-No
Purpose-Random
Political Left
Creationism-
Intelligent Design (ID)
Political Right
Science ReligionVS.
Afterlife? None. Individual
Annihilation “Dirt Nap”
Afterlife? w/God or:
Separation from Him
“We live by faith, not by sight”
Observability, Testability, Repeatability, and
Falsifiability are the Hallmarks of the Scientific
Method
“God of the Gaps” Science unable to explain-
- Theists reason ”God Did It!”
Anti -ID or Anti-Religion?
Which side best describes your Worldview?
Atheism- The only path to
Truth? a.k.a.“Scientism?”
Is Science revealing a
“space-less” “Time-less”
”Change-less” Creator?
Everything can be explained in
terms of time, matter, energy, and
change
God is the Un-Caused--First
Cause
Cosmos by Chance Or: Universe by Design?
Does Science/Media
purposely avoid theories w/
ID supported
conclusions?
Universe–God Lovingly
Created- w/a Purpose
-2 Corinthians 5:7
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13. Science &
Religion:
Sworn Arch
Enemies?
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14. Recent national surveys show a majority of Americans today believe
“there is conflict between Science & Faith”
According to a 2011 national survey published by The Barna Group
55% of American adults believe that “science and religion [are] often
in conflict”
1/3 of young adults with a Christian background today believe that
“churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in”
1/4 of the same group think “Christianity is anti-science”
1/3 of college freshmen view the relationship between science and
faith as one of “conflict”
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15. A deeper look at question #1
1) Do Americans believe Science and Religion Are Often in Conflict?
1/3 of this group believes science and religion are separate, non-
overlapping, domains or as famed Harvard Biologist Jay Gould
termed them NOMAs or Non- Overlapping Magisteria (Areas--
Domains of Teaching)
1/3 of the group believe Science and Religion clash in mainly (2)
Areas-
1) Evolution (Origin of Life)
2) Abortion Rights
1/3 hold that Science and Religion are by their very nature,
opposing methods of gaining knowledge and seeking the
about the reality we share
the slight majority ~ (55%) are a single yet diverse group
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16. On even the clearest of nights the human eye can see only
about 3,000 stars (~6,000 total day/night)
In our galaxy alone, there are 100 billion stars
That’s an estimated 100,000,000,000 or
Life’s Existential Questions
1) Where did we come from?
5) Will I be held accountable for the way I lived my life? 4) What happens after I die?
2) What is my purpose in life?
3) How should I live my life?
6) If God exists, then He was “The Creator of the Universe”- How did the Universe begin?
First some perspective on how incredibly vast our Universe is….
7) How many stars can we see? And How many in total are out there?
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17. The Milky Way Galaxy
You
Are
Here
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18. Enter: Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Updated Galaxy Census
October 2016
Astronomers using data from the
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopes
and other telescopes performed a
finely detailed census of the
Number of Galaxies in the Universe
The group came to the surprising
conclusion that there are at least 10
times as many galaxies in the
Observable Universe as previously
thought
Multiplying the number of galaxies
which is now ~2 trillion by the
100 million stars per galaxy ± other
astronomer’s estimates there may be
as many as 𝟏𝟎 𝟐𝟏
− 𝟏𝟎 𝟐𝟒
stars in the
Universe
“But this could easily be a factor
of 10 higher” -NASA Spokesperson
Due to the expansion of the universe
(λ) (& other variables) the count
given today will vary as time passes
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19. How far is it
“Across the
Universe?”
In 1- year light travels
𝟓. 𝟖𝟕𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎 𝟏𝟐
or ≈
5.878 Trillion Miles
The distance across (diameter) the
Observable Universe is: 93 ×
𝟏𝟎 𝟏𝟎 ≈
93 Billion Light Years
Though highly speculative the Non-
Observable Universe is said to be
10^(𝟏𝟎 𝟑𝟎)
Times larger than the
Observable Universe! That is an order
of magnitude of Ten Octillion-Googol
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20. Image from
NASA’s
Cassini
Spacecraft
930 million
miles from
Earth-
Image taken
from inside
Saturn’s ring
This is an image taken by NASA’ s
Voyager 1 Spacecraft
The Voyager 1 was 3.7 Billion miles from
Earth
Just outside the orbit of Neptune
Earth
Earth
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21. Saturn
Hi-Def Image from NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft’s wide-angle camera just 2 days prior to the
termination of Cassini’s 20-year long mission. On September 15, 2017, the spacecraft dramatically
crash landed into the planet’s atmosphere, capping one of NASA’s most successful missions
Random Chance
Intelligent Design
?
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22. The Cassini mission continues after the spacecraft was purposely crash landed into Saturn’s atmosphere. The mission is
now in a data analysis phase. In September 2018 NASA scientists revealed a surprising feature emerging at Saturn's
northern pole
This hexagonal shape suggests that a well-known lower-altitude hexagon may influence what happens up above it
and that it may be a towering structure-- spanning hundreds of Miles High
A single, towering hexagonal structure that stretches up through the atmosphere would be
unlikely given that wind conditions change considerably with altitude
After further study of atmospheric properties in the northern region, NASA determined
that waves like the hexagon should be unable to propagate upwards – they should
remain trapped in the cloud-tops
"One way that wave 'information' can leak upwards is via a process called
evanescence, where the strength of a wave decays with height but is just
about strong enough to still persist up into the stratosphere," -NASA
Scientist
"The mystery and extent of the hexagon continue to grow, even after Cassini’s 13 years in orbit around
Saturn," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist. "I look forward to seeing other new discoveries that
remain to be found in the Cassini data."
NO
Saturn Random Chance
Intelligent Design

23. Now that we know the Visible Universe is 93
Billion Light- Years across:
• What might Intergalactic Space Travel be like in the
22nd-Century and beyond?
• Given that the Universe is expanding at an ever
increasing Rate-- What is it like out there across
such great distances?
This group of scientists, designers and architects mainly from the US and the
EU are in the process of developing (over the next 100 years) a spacecraft
that will allow humans to live permanently in space- even though they'll never
live to see it
It's called a “Worldship”-- a fully self-sustaining spacecraft that has a complex
ecosystem, simulated gravity, a propulsion mechanism to guide and move it through
space, and a habitat for humans so that people can live in outer space
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24. For some additional perspective on how vast the Visible
Universe really is.
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25. Sunset on the Planet Mars
Video feed from NASA’s “Curiosity” Rover
“Live” from the Red Planet on April 15, 2015
Local Weather
For Mars
as transmitted by
Curiosity
The Bluish Tint at Sunset is due to fine particles of dust in the
Martian atmosphere that permits Blue Light to penetrate in more than
the Longer Wavelength Colors
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NASA’S Curiosity Mars Rover

26. This Concludes Section 2 of: